5.  The applicant was born in 1962 and lives in Moscow.
6.  In 2002 a certain S. brought court proceedings against the applicant before the Tushinskiy District Court, Moscow (“the District Court”). S. sought to recover an amount of money advanced to the applicant for construction of a house for him. S. claimed that instead of building the house the applicant had acquired a flat for himself and a new car. The District Court attached the applicant’s flat to secure the claim.
7.  On 4 April 2003 the District Court awarded 362,267.87 Russian roubles (RUB) to S., to be paid by the applicant, and issued a writ of execution.
8.  By a ruling of 7 May 2003 the Moscow north-west bailiffs’ service (“the bailiffs’ service”) initiated enforcement proceedings. The applicant was invited to voluntarily comply with the judgment debt within five days of the date on which the enforcement proceedings were initiated.
9.  On several occasions the applicant asked the District Court to postpone the enforcement of the judgment of 4 April 2003. He claimed that although he had some income, his financial situation was difficult since he had two dependent children and a sick mother.  By decisions of 23 October 2003 and 18 January and 14 April 2005 the District Court dismissed his requests.
10.  On 20 November 2003 the District Court granted the applicant’s request to lift the attachment order in respect of his flat on the grounds that it was his and his family’s sole dwelling and therefore could not be seized for the purpose of enforcement of the judgment of 4 April 2003.
11.  On 19 October 2004 the District Court examined another claim lodged by S. against the applicant, in which he requested the annulment of the contract for the sale of the applicant’s car to his wife in July 2003. The court found that the contract was void and ordered the repossession of the car for the purpose of enforcing the judgment debt of 4 April 2003.
12.  By a judgment of 29 November 2004 the District Court ordered the applicant to pay RUB 160,000 to his former wife in respect of unpaid child support.
13.  On 27 January 2005 the bailiffs’ service joined the enforcement proceedings initiated following the judgment of 4 April 2003 to the proceedings opened following the judgment of 29 November 2004.
14.  On 15 December 2005 the enforcement proceedings were discontinued on the grounds that a writ of execution had been sent to the applicant’s employer, a private company based in Vladivostok, Primorskiy Region.
15.  In 2010 S. asked the District Court to provide him with a duplicate of the writ of execution issued following the judgment of 4 April 2003, on the grounds that the original writ of execution had been lost and the judgment of 4 April 2003 had not been enforced in full.
16.  On 23 April 2010 the District Court granted that request. The court found it established that on 15 December 2005 the bailiffs’ service had forwarded the writ of execution to the applicant’s employer, indicating that by that date it had recovered from the applicant only a part of the debt and that the remaining part amounted to RUB 218,406.31. It was also established that between 2006 and 2009 the applicant had returned RUB 70,661 to S.
17.  It appears that the applicant paid the remainder of his debt to S. in July 2010.
18.  In the framework of the enforcement proceedings described above, the bailiffs’ service on several occasions restricted the applicant’s right to leave the country. Their decisions were based on the 1996 Federal Act on Leaving and Entering the Russian Federation (Procedures) (section 15(5)), the 1997 Federal Act on Enforcement Proceedings (section 4(1) and (3), section 44(3) and section 45(5)) and the 1997 Federal Act on the Bailiffs’ Service (section 14) (see “Relevant domestic law” below).
19.  On 27 November 2003 the bailiffs’ service sent the Moscow Department of the Interior a document in the form of a “demand” (“требование”). The document stated that on 7 May 2003 the bailiffs’ service had instituted enforcement proceedings on the basis of the writ of execution of the same date in accordance with which RUB 362,267.87 had to be recovered from the applicant. The applicant had not paid the judgment debt voluntarily and had not complied with the bailiffs’ service’s ruling of 7 May 2003. Therefore, referring to relevant provisions of domestic law (see paragraph 18 above), the bailiffs’ service requested the Department of the Interior to enter the applicant in the Department’s database with a view to imposing a temporary restriction of up to six months on his right to leave the Russian Federation. The demand did not indicate the date on which the six-month period started to run.
20.  The applicant alleged that the bailiffs’ service had not informed him of the restrictions imposed on him. Therefore, in January 2004, he had purchased a package holiday to Egypt for himself and two members of his family. When he attempted to board the plane on 24 January 2004 the Border Service officials at the airport had refused to allow him to board. The applicant provided the Court with a copy of the contract of purchase of that package holiday.
21.  By a final decision of 20 May 2004 the Moscow City Court (“the City Court”) dismissed the applicant’s complaint against the bailiffs’ service’s demand of 27 November 2003. It found, in particular, that the bailiffs’ service had lawful grounds on which to impose the travel ban on the applicant.
22.  On 3 June 2004 the bailiffs’ service sent the Department of Border Control a document in the form of an “order” (“поручение”). In that document the bailiffs’ service requested that the applicant’s right to leave the Russian Federation be restricted for a period of six months starting from 22 June 2004, on the grounds that the applicant had not voluntarily complied with the judgment of 4 April 2003.
23.  It is not clear on what date the applicant was notified of the order of 3 June 2004. It appears that he did not appeal against it.
24.  On 10 June 2004 the bailiffs’ service sent the Moscow Department of the Interior a demand requesting it to enter the applicant in the Department’s database with a view to imposing a temporary restriction of up to six months on his right to leave the Russian Federation. The document stated that the applicant had not paid the judgment debt voluntarily and had not complied with the bailiffs’ service’s decision initiating the enforcement proceedings. It did not indicate the date on which the six-month period started to run.
25.  It is not clear on what date the applicant was notified of the demand of 10 June 2004. It appears that he did not appeal against it.
26.  On 24 December 2004 the head of the bailiffs’ service sent another order to the Department of Border Control to restrict the applicant’s right to leave the country for another six months on the grounds that he had not voluntarily repaid the judgment debt of 4 April 2003. The order did not indicate the date on which the six-month period started to run.
27.  On 31 December 2004 the applicant challenged the bailiffs’ service’s order before the District Court. He complained, in particular, that the head of the bailiffs’ service had had no right to issue such an order and that the order was unlawful since he had already started repaying the debt. He also complained that the order in question violated the rights of his minor children, for whom he had been paying child support.
28.  By a final decision of 22 June 2005 the City Court found that the head of the bailiffs’ service had imposed the travel ban on the applicant in accordance with the law. In particular, the City Court established that the bailiffs’ service had initiated the enforcement proceedings and had made relevant enquiries in order to obtain information about the applicant’s assets. Since the applicant had not been paying the judgment debt, on 27 November 2003 the bailiffs’ service had restricted his right to leave the country. The court found those actions lawful. Taking into account that as at 24 December 2004 the applicant had not complied with the judgment debt and had not reached any agreement with the creditor, the bailiffs’ service had again restricted his right to leave the country and had done so in accordance with the relevant domestic law. The City Court also observed that the applicant had started repaying the debt only on 27 January 2005, after the bailiff’s demand to restrict his right to leave the country. The City Court also took into account the fact that other enforcement proceedings had been pending in respect of the applicant for his failure to pay child support for his minor children.
29.  On 3 March 2005, while the court proceedings on the applicant’s appeal against the bailiffs’ service’s order of 24 December 2004 were pending, the bailiffs’ service issued a ruling (“постановление”) restricting the applicant’s right to leave the country. The ruling stated that the applicant was seeking to evade the enforcement of the judgment of 4 April 2003 and that therefore his right to leave the Russian Federation should be restricted. The ruling did not indicate the period during which the restriction was to be applied to the applicant.
30.  On 21 April 2005 the applicant appealed against the ruling of 3 March 2005 to the District Court.
31.  On 7 July 2005 the District Court quashed the ruling of 3 March 2005 on the grounds that, contrary to the requirements of domestic law, that ruling had not indicated the period during which the travel restriction was to be applied to the applicant. It appears that the bailiffs’ service did not appeal against the decision of 7 July 2005.
32.  On 26 May 2005, while the court proceedings on the applicant’s appeal against the bailiffs’ service’s ruling of 3 March 2005 were pending, the bailiffs’ service again sent an order to the Department of Border Control to restrict the applicant’s right to leave the country for another six months starting from 26 May 2005. The order stated that the applicant had not complied with the judgment of 4 April 2003 voluntarily and that, according to his creditor, the applicant had been travelling abroad frequently. On the same date a copy of that order was sent to the applicant.
33.  On 26 July 2005 the District Court found the bailiffs’ service’s order to be lawful. It held, in particular, that the order had been issued in accordance with section 15 of the 1996 Federal Act on Leaving and Entering the Russian Federation (Procedures) and fully complied with formal requirements provided for in section 16 of that Act. It appears that the applicant did not appeal against that decision to the City Court.
34.  On 15 December 2005 the restriction imposed on the applicant’s leaving the country was lifted.
35.  On an unspecified date the applicant applied to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, requesting it to examine the compatibility with the Constitution of section 15(5) of the 1996 Federal Act on Leaving and Entering the Russian Federation (Procedures) (see “Relevant domestic law” below).
36.  On 24 February 2005 the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation refused to examine the applicant’s complaint, citing lack of jurisdiction in relation to the subject matter. In its decision the Constitutional Court noted that the restrictions provided for in the impugned provisions were not of an absolute character. In particular, the restrictions could be imposed only for a limited duration, the law had set the maximum period during which such restrictions could be applied and permission to leave the Russian Federation could be granted before expiry of those restrictions. The Constitutional Court further observed that in all cases of temporary restrictions of the constitutional right to leave the Russian Federation the relevant body of the Ministry of the Interior had to notify the citizen concerned of the reasons for and the term of the restriction, as well as the date and registration number of the relevant decision and the full name and legal address of the organisation which had assumed responsibility for restricting the person’s right to leave the Russian Federation. The body in question was therefore under an obligation to justify the necessity of the restriction. The Constitutional Court observed that the restrictions were aimed at the protection of constitutional values and could not be regarded as violating the applicant’s constitutional rights. Finally, the Constitutional Court noted that the legislature had made the application of restrictions dependent not only on the existence of formal grounds but also on specific factual circumstances, which, where necessary, could be verified by the courts of general jurisdiction.
37.  On 18 July 2005 the Moscow Tushinskiy district prosecutor initiated criminal proceedings against the applicant on suspicion of forgery of documents submitted by the latter to the District Court in the context of two other sets of civil proceedings brought against him by S.
38.  On 17 May 2006 the District Court discontinued the criminal proceedings against the applicant because the limitation period for a criminal prosecution for forgery had expired. The applicant did not appeal against that decision.